Target Practice

"Christmas Elf" by Icklepeeps

I'll be honest, I sat down to the computer today and felt a strong compulsion to pick up with my writing on Book 3 rather than produce this week's Blog. That's a really good sign in terms of motivation and production. It's not so good in terms of overall consistency and fulfilling expectations. I didn't really have a topic in mind to write about this week. That was a big part of the avoidance factor. But the motivation to return to my main project turns out to be a pretty good topic in and of itself! How's that for finding inspiration?

The writing of Book 3 has been a strange journey for me. Unlike "Ash to Ashes" which took 8 years to write and "Wolfkin" that started its publishing journey with 70 pages sitting there just waiting to be reworked and finished, Book 3 has been a completely "from scratch" project. I knew the general story. I knew the main characters. I even had scenes scripted and planned in my head. But as far as having any of the writing started for this book, Book 3 has been a mostly fresh product being built from the ground up. In case you were wondering, that is an equally exciting and daunting place to begin.

What makes this particular process so unique and fun (for me) is finally hitting the target points where I get to incorporate the ideas that I've been holding onto inside my brain for so long. Seeing these scenes play out after so much time waiting for them to be given context is a remarkably cathartic experience. Figuring out how all of the characters and story pieces fit together is a truly satisfying achievement in its own right. Feeling like that "finished" product is entertaining and well done is even better.

The characters are coming to life. They're finding their voice and place in this world. They're sharing their experiences and thoughts. Dragons and witches aside, this is the true magic of Chalisaria for me - that opportunity to tap into these people's lives and discover what they have to say. It's like meeting your favorite celebrity or that friend of a friend that everybody talks about constantly (but without the inevitable disappointment and let down that follows "Oh, I've heard so much about you!").

The challenging part of working on a fresh project like this is ignoring the expectations set by the prior works and putting off thoughts and concerns of what comes next. Having gone through two different publishing experiences already and the promotional efforts that followed, it is really hard to try and not think ahead to what comes after the manuscript is finished. Don't get me wrong, I started talking to my cover artist months ago about ideas I would like to see incorporated into this work. (I consider that part of the creative process and it's really just basic courtesy for her so that she knows what to expect.) What I'm talking about being a problem is letting formatting as I write slow me down. Thinking ahead to page layout and design while I'm still typing the manuscript. Worrying about page and word counts rather than just focusing on the story. Those things aren't entirely disruptive, mind you, but they slow the process down considerably.

The biggest hinderance I've encountered since starting this project comes from doing my monthly sales reports. I don't mean the actual process of doing the reports. That job only takes a few minutes. What screws me up is seeing the slow (sometimes nonexistent) progress made in selling my existing work. It's really hard to stay excited and motivated with a new project when the reception of my prior work has been...shall we say, limited. It's hard not to sit here, after looking at the time and finances invested in past projects vs. the returns, and justify to myself why I should do it all again. It's a struggle not to be jaded when something I love and believe in isn't meeting its potential. It's stressful to look at the work I'm doing right now and know that, once it's finished, there will be another sizable financial investment waiting for me at the finish line - an investment that, so far, hasn't been earned back.

I have no doubt that "The Chronicles..." will be successful some day. I'm aware that every award winning and best selling author went through their rocky start of waiting for their work to be noticed and take off. I know that there is something to be said for creating art for art's sake. I know that I have no less than three more books to write in this series (after this one) and a number of spinoffs already planned. I also know that if I don't get these books and stories written, I will probably go insane with those stories and characters trapped inside my head. Again.

This is not a white flag being raised or an excuse being made to give up. What I'm saying is, I have to find every source of positive motivation I can and milk it for what it's worth. (Thank you to everyone who has read the books and shown your support and excitement about the series so far!) There's plenty of negative obstacles that I have to overcome to be successful and keep doing what I love. I have to repeatedly refocus myself on the creative process rather than allow myself to dwell on the things that I can't actively control. I have to keep aiming for my target and follow through.

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"Wolfkin: A Fairy's Tail" is undergoing the final review process for the audiobook release! Stay tuned for updates! "Ash to Ashes" is available in audiobook format NOW on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible! The holidays are in full swing! You still have time to order copies of the books for your friends, family, frenemies, coworkers, neighbors, random strangers, the ghost in the attic... you get the idea. Find the full selection of books HERE!